You might remember the good old days as a kid when your grandmother treated your cuts and bruises with things that came straight from her cupboard. No need to go to the pharmacy, your kitchen probably has everything you need to keep your minor ailments in check.
It was a comforting feeling knowing that if you got sick, your grandmother always knew what to do. These natural remedies used to be passed from one generation to another, though apparently these days we trust the drug cabinet more than our own families.
It’s time to put the medicine aside and check out some natural health remedies that will help cure some very common health problems. Why not try it out, it’s cheaper and better for your health.
Upset Stomach
Let’s face it, everyone has to deal with this problem and it’s not a nice one to suffer from. It’s so common that it’s also not something you can go to the doctor with every time you experience it.
A natural way to help resolve upset stomachs or loose bowels is to take a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds with a cup of water. Make sure to take it around 3 times a day to stop feeling so grouchy.
This natural seed is much better for your system than any pill you can take, so keep some handy in the cupboard for the next time you have to run to the toilet.
Cuts and Bruises
Children are the most likely people obtain cuts and bruises on a near daily basis. If you’re a parent you might want to try this natural remedy your grandmother would know about to treat them.
Instead of panicking and heading straight for the chemical cream, go to your kitchen cupboard and pull out your spices. Tumeric has a high level of healing powers and is best put on small cuts and bruises.
Obviously make sure to keep the wound clean and healthy, and with a little help from this miracle spice your child’s injury will be gone in a few days.
Acne
There is nothing to be ashamed of if you suffer from acne, even adults have problems with their skin. More often than not we rely on chemical substances to try and solve our skin problems and forget that there are very natural remedies to help resolve this issue.
A traditional method your grandmother will probably know more about than you is to apply cider vinegar to your face. It works by killing off a lot of the bad bacteria that lives on your face, leaving it clean and fresh.
It’s important not to overdo this remedy as it can dry out your skin. One a week treatment should be plenty.
Ear Infections
There are some very unfortunate people that get ear aches constantly. There are now endless medicinal ways to treat it, but often it helps for a short period of time and it comes back.
Your grandmother may have known this natural remedy; the next time you get that familiar ear ache get out a clove of garlic and stick it in your ear. Garlic is known to have all sorts of natural medicinal purposes and infections is one of them.
The strength of the garlic odor and the juice from its skin can reach the depths of your ear canal and help beat those nasty infections.
Wasp Stings
This is something you are surely going to have to deal with this summer, especially if you have children. Obviously if you are allergic, you will have other medicines to help treat it, but otherwise you can rely on the good old onion sitting in your cupboard.
The first thing you should do to treat these types of stings is to pull out the stinger out of the skin and get an onion cut in half. Put the onion on the affected area and let the juices do the soothing.
It’s not the best smelling ointment in the world, but your grandmother will be proud.
Blocked Nose
The dreaded winter cold. Everyone has suffered from it. The worst part of getting a cold is not being able to breathe because your nose is blocked. If you listened to your grandmother she probably would know about this natural remedy.
Get yourself a black pepper corn and stick it on a needle. Put it over a flame and let it smoke a little, and as it does inhale the pepper smoke. This should fix the blocked nose problem and give you an energy kick.
If that doesn’t work, you should try to inhale steam from hot water infused with peppermint.
Headaches
Most people suffer from some form of a headache once per week. It’s not surprising because these days we live very fast passed lives that tend to give us migraines and headaches on a regular basis.
Because of this type of lifestyle we are more likely to reach for the easiest and most convenient treatment – a pill – to get rid of the headache. Your grandmother would be disappointed. Next time you feel a headache coming on, try inhaling steam from water that has a couple of drops of lavender oil.
If you don’t have this handy and suffer regularly, try introducing flaxseeds to your diet. They are known to have high omega-3 acids which is known to help headaches.
Persistent Cough
No one ever enjoys having a cough, especially if it’s persistent and lasts for weeks at a time. Instead of using chemical solutions and syrup you can try an alternative more natural measure your grandmother can tell you about.
There are a number of ways to treat this ailment, from the well known lemon and honey method, to gargling salt water or drinking licorice root tea. It seems that you might have to try all of these to gain the best results.
Steaming is also recommended as it can help soothe your airway and help you breathe better.
Sleep Problems
One of the worst ailments to suffer with is sleep problems. When you are tired and lacking in sleep, your body and mind will not function as well the next day.
Most doctors will prescribe medication to help you get to sleep, but this is a problematic method as once you start taking them it’s hard to stop. If you are sick of taking medication for sleep, you can try cherry tart juice instead. This has a natural sleep inducing ingredient that will send you off to lala land.
If you don’t have this at hand, try eating fruits like cherries or bananas. Make sure you eat them at least half an hour before bed to get the sleep nutrients absorbed.